Edge Medical Secures Over $200 Million in Series C Financing Led by Boyu Capital, with Temasek and Sequoia China as Co-Lead Investors

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Edge Medical, a globally leading surgical robotics platform company, recently announced the closing of its Series C financing round, exceeding USD 200 million. The round was co-led by Boyu Capital, Temasek, and Sequoia China. Existing investors, including Sanzheng Health Investment, LYFE Capital, and Guoce Investment, made additional investments. Prominent domestic and international investors, such as the China State-Owned Enterprise Mixed-Ownership Reform Fund, OrbiMed, Chenyi Investment, the Greater Bay Area Fund, Octagon Capital, Sage Partners, Lingang Lanwan Capital, and Mirae Asset, also participated in the round.

Edge Medical is committed to creating innovative solutions for future surgical procedures. The company currently masters both multi-port and single-port surgical robot technologies, with over 400 patents applied for and granted. It is understood that the Edge Medical team, through years of dedicated research and accumulation, has independently mastered all core technologies involved in surgical robots, including structural design, system control, motion algorithms, and artificial intelligence algorithms. Furthermore, the company has comprehensively laid out multiple product pipelines, including multi-port surgical robots, single-port surgical robots, natural orifice surgical robots, and high-end medical devices. Currently, the company's two flagship products—the multi-port and single-port surgical robots—feature high technical barriers and possess significant development potential in the domestic market.

Among these, Edge Medical’s multi-port surgical robot demonstrates excellent performance and surpasses the imported da Vinci Surgical System in certain parameters. It completed patient enrollment for its urology registration clinical trial in September 2021. This registration clinical trial was jointly conducted by the Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. Meanwhile, this robotic system entered the registration clinical trial phase in gynecology in August of this year, becoming the first laparoscopic surgical robot system in China to enter clinical trials in two specialties. In addition, the application for special review of Edge Medical’s single-port surgical robot as an “Innovative Medical Device” was approved in April 2021, and it is about to enter the registration clinical trial phase.

Cao Yanling, Partner at Boyu Capital, the lead investor in this round, stated, “Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) represents a milestone in the development of clinical surgical medicine. Compared with open surgery and traditional minimally invasive surgery, RAS offers advantages such as flexibility and precision, resistance to fatigue and radiation exposure, a wide and clear field of view, smaller incisions with faster recovery, reduced blood loss, and fewer complications. It demonstrates significant clinical value in numerous complex procedures and holds broad growth prospects in the global surgical market. As a leading domestic enterprise in laparoscopic surgical robots, Edge Medical has demonstrated advantages far surpassing those of its peers in technology, team, and clinical applications. We are honored to lead this financing round for Edge Medical and look forward to working with the company’s team and both new and existing investors to promote the widespread clinical adoption of surgical robots and benefit patients.”

Meanwhile, Sequoia China stated that surgical robots in China currently rely on imports to meet clinical demand. According to data from Frost & Sullivan, Intuitive Surgical, which holds the largest share of the global surgical robot market, sells its da Vinci Surgical System at a unit price of approximately RMB 30 million in China. The emergence of Edge Medical’s domestically produced surgical robots is expected to reduce this cost, benefiting patients, physicians, and hospitals alike.

The China State-Owned Enterprise Mixed-Ownership Reform Fund announced its investment in Edge Medical, affirming the company’s independent R&D capabilities and future commercialization potential for its surgical robot systems. The fund expressed optimism about leveraging the “Chinese solution” to address critical technological bottlenecks and accelerate import substitution.

Dr. Wang Jianchen, founder of Edge Medical, stated that the company’s development has entered a new phase. The funds raised in this round will support the comprehensive enhancement of its business operations and accelerate the commercialization of core products. This includes deepening product research and development, establishing large-scale production bases and training centers, and implementing a comprehensive commercialization strategy. With the vision of “making surgical robots standard equipment in operating rooms,” Edge Medical looks forward to bringing high-end surgical robot systems, intelligently manufactured in China, to market at an early date. This will enable patients across China to access high-quality medical care and contribute to the improvement of public health standards.

Boyu Capital is an asset management firm established in 2011, with diversified business lines spanning private equity, secondary markets, real estate, and venture capital. The firm focuses on four key sectors: consumer retail, financial services, healthcare, and TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecom). Committed to investing in outstanding companies within high-growth industries, Boyu Capital strives to deliver superior long-term returns to its investors.

Temasek is a global investment company with a net portfolio value of S$381 billion (equivalent to RMB 1.86 trillion) as of March 31, 2021. Headquartered in Singapore, Temasek maintains 13 offices across nine countries worldwide. The Temasek Charter defines its three core roles as an investor, an institution, and a steward of assets, shaping its philosophy and mission to pursue excellence, fulfill its mandate, and benefit future generations. Temasek provides capital to foster development and is committed to empowering solutions that address major global challenges. Sustainability is the core principle underpinning all of Temasek’s actions. Actively seeking sustainable solutions, Temasek aims to overcome present and future challenges, seize investment opportunities, and help build a more sustainable future for communities at large.

Sequoia Capital has always been committed to helping entrepreneurs build enduring, great companies by bringing rich global resources and valuable historical experience to its portfolio companies. Over the past 49 years, Sequoia Capital has invested in numerous innovative enterprises and leaders shaping industry trends. As “entrepreneurs behind entrepreneurs,” Sequoia Capital China focuses on investment opportunities in three key sectors: TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecom), healthcare, and consumer goods/services. Over the past 16 years, Sequoia Capital China has invested in more than 900 companies characterized by distinct technological advantages, innovative business models, and high growth potential.

China State-Owned Enterprise Mixed-Ownership Reform Fund was registered and established on December 24, 2020, in the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. Initiated by China Chengtong Holdings Group Ltd. as the primary contributor, the fund was jointly established with 20 central state-owned enterprises, local state-owned enterprises, and strategic investment institutions, including CNBM United Investment Co., Ltd., China Reform Holdings Corporation Ltd., and China Three Gorges Investment Management Co., Ltd. The fund’s mission is to deepen pragmatic cooperation between state-owned enterprises and enterprises of diverse ownership structures, improve modern corporate governance, stimulate the vitality of market entities, and cultivate mixed-ownership enterprises with global competitiveness. It strives to generate favorable returns for shareholders, pioneer new pathways for mixed-ownership reform in state-owned enterprises, and make unique contributions to national economic and social development.

China State-Owned Enterprise Mixed-Ownership Reform Fund, with a total scale of RMB 200 billion and an initial phase of RMB 70.7 billion, adheres to the principles of “government guidance, market-based operation, institutional improvement, property rights protection, rigorous procedures, standardized operations, reform where appropriate, and steady advancement.” The fund focuses primarily on mixed-ownership reforms in core sectors and key technologies, while strategically investing in areas of national strategic importance, competitive industries, technological innovation, and critical segments of the industrial supply chain.